Speakers that accurately reproduce a drumset

The Shahinian Diapasons can reproduce a drum solo at live levels or higher. My brother is a drummer and he was amazed when he heard my system. His immediate comment once I turned down the volume was that it sounded like there was a drum set being played in my living room. Neil Pearts latest drum solo on the RIO cd is awesome. The transients are clear precise and completely in tact. The bass pressure is chest thumping. Oh yeah-- these are way cool!

Ptmconsulting makes a good point as well. The real key is dynamics which comes from having the right amplifier in conjunction with a dedicated (preferably 20 amp) AC line for the amplifier.

Dynamic passages force an amp to draw much current from the AC. Even a lowly current draw like a 36 watt preamp sharing the same AC line with high-powered amplifer is enough to rob the amp of the AC juice required for such passages and thus render dynamics rather flat and lifeless.

-IMO

Go audition the new Paradigm Signature S8's. I listend to them w/ the Shefield Labs Drum & Track cd and was highly impressed.

After listening to the horn setup certainly you realize that drumsets sound fast as the lightspeed but after auditioning for 15 min you realize that jingle in your ears stays much more than you've listened to the music. Such sonical residue may turn out as distortion in further listening.:-)

The best loudspeakers I have heard for drumkit is the Classic Audio Reproductions Hartsfield, a 3-way corner horn. I've heard a lot of other fine speakers (including several mentioned in this thread), but the CAR Hartsfields came the closest to getting the combination of dynamics, pitch definition, richness of timbre, and (last but not least) visceral impact of a drum kit correct. There are others that go deeper, but don't sound as natural - they don't get the tone right. Nope, I don't sell 'em.

Duke